After being closed for four years, the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border is again open. The checkpoint will work in March-November from 06:00 till 22:00, and in the period of November-March – from 07:00 to 19:00. Only transport means can cross the Upper Lars. The checkpoint restores a vital route between Russia and the South Caucasus and will be available only for vehicles. After the closure of the checkpoint freight transfers between Armenia and Russia were carried out through Poti checkpoint. There is no access for the pedestrians or the residents of the area to cross the checkpoint. The citizens of Russia or Georgia, who’d wish to cross the Upper Lars border will have to get permissions from the Swiss Embassy because Switzerland has taken up the role of the mediator between these countries ever since the conflict. Let us remember that the Upper Lars crossing running through a narrow pass in the Caucasus Mountains was controversially closed by Moscow in June 2006, hitting hard Armenian exporters of agricultural produce and other goods. Yerevan has since repeatedly urged the Russians to reopen it. The Georgian and Russian governments announced in late December that they will allow renewed commercial and passenger traffic through the mountain pass from March 1. The agreement was reportedly reached under Swiss and Armenian mediation. The foreign affairs ministers of the two countries confirmed this via diplomatic notes. “According to the achieved agreement the transit will resume via Kazbek (Georgia) and Upper Lars (Russia) starting from March 1, 2010,” reads the release of the Georgian foreign affairs ministry.
